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Jacoby Ellsbury
Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury was born on September 11, 1983, in Madras, Oregon. Ellsbury is an official member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and is the first player of Navajo descent to reach the major leagues. He currently is the starting center fielder for the Boston Red Sox, and was ranked as the #2 prospect in the Red Sox system until he graduated to rookie status in April 2007. He bats and throws left-handed. Early Career Ellsbury attended Oregon State University, where, in 2005, he hit .406 with 6 home runs and 48 RBIs. He was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 23rd round of the 2002 amateur draft, but he neglected to sign. 2005 Ellsbury was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2005 draft (23rd overall pick). He signed with the Red Sox on July 1st, 2005 to a $1,400,000 signing bonus, and was assigned to the Short Season Lowell Spinners. He played his first game for the Spinners on July 14th. On September 7th, he tied a team record for stealing three bases in a game. 2006 Ellsbury began the season as the #6 ranked prospect in the Red Sox system. He started the season with the class-A Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League, where he tied the franchise record for stolen bases in a game- with four- on July 3rd. He was a member of the Carolina League All-Star team and was promoted to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs on July 12th. He was the Eastern League player of the week for the week of August 6-13, during which time he hit .400 with his first Double-A home run. He finished the season hitting .308 in Double-A. He was awarded the Red Sox minor league Base-runner of the Year and minor league Defensive Player of the Year honors. He participated in the Arizona Fall League as a member of the Peoria Javelinas, where he was a member of the AFL Rising Stars All-Star Team. 2007 Ellsbury was invited to his first major league Spring Training as a non-roster invitee to the major league complex. He earned rave reviews from scouts and team officials, but was assigned again to Double-A Portland. He did not stay there long, however, as he was promoted to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox on May, 4th, after hitting .452 and being awarded the Eastern League Player of the Month award for April. He got his first major league hit against Robinson Tejada of the Texas Rangers in the third inning of his debut game. He debuted wearing #46. He stole his first major league base in a July 2nd game, also against the Rangers. During that same game, he impressed many Red Sox fans by scoring from second base on a wild pitch. Red Sox hall-of-famer Johnny Pesky described that play as "The single greatest play I've ever seen in all my years of baseball." Ellsbury was optioned back to Pawtucket on July 5th. Ellsbury was selected to participate in the 2007 XM All-Star Futures game, but was cut from the roster after being called up to the Red Sox on June 30th, to fill in for the injured Coco Crisp. However, he returned to the minors and replaced the injured Cameron Maybin on the roster. During his time in Pawtucket, Ellsbury bested the record for a consecutive game hitting streak, shattering the previous record of 19, held by Dave Berg and Dave Stapleton. His streak ended at 25 games on August 31st. When MLB rosters expanded on September 1st, Ellsbury was called up again to the major league team. He hit his first major league home run on September 2nd, against Daniel Cabrera of the Baltimore Orioles. Ellsbury was named the American League's Rookie of the Month for September, and made the Red Sox playoff roster. During the postseason, starting center fielder Coco Crisp was slumping, prompting manager Terry Francona to start Ellsbury for Game 6 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Indians. He started each subsequent game and batted .438 in the World Series, leading the Red Sox to their second championship in four years. During Game 2, Ellsbury became only the second hitter in major league history to hit 2 doubles in a single inning of a World Series game (The other being Matt Williams. Both of the hits were off Josh Fogg. 2008 Ellsbury's excellent performance in the 2007 playoffs, and a minor injury to Coco Crisp during Spring Training, prompted Francona to grant Ellsbury the starting center field spot for the Red Sox in 2008. He will officially be a rookie for the 2008 season. Category:1983 births Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Lowell Spinners players Category:Wilmington Blue Rocks players Category:Portland Sea Dogs players Category:Pawtucket Red Sox players Category:Native American baseball players Category:Major league outfielders Category:2007 Boston Red Sox World Series Championship Team Category:Navajo baseball players Category:Major league players from Oregon Category:Living people Category:Players Category:New York Yankees players